Pennsylvania’s International Trade Relationships

Where Do Pennsylvanians Import Products from, and What Are They Buying?

Figure 2 shows the percentage of Pennsylvania’s total imports by trading partner of origin from 2008 through 2024. The figure’s inset table provides information on the US dollar value and percentage share of the state’s imports by trading partner of origin in 2024. Almost 30 percent of its 2024 product imports ($38.1 billion) came from the European Union, making it Pennsylvania’s largest source of imports that year. China accounted for the largest share of 2024 imports from a single country (13 percent) at a value of $16.6 billion. More than half of imports from China ($9.3 billion) were computer and electronic products.

Figure 3 shows the US dollar value of imported products from the largest North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) categories from 2008 through 2024. Pennsylvania’s imports of chemicals have increased sharply in recent years, driven by imports of pharmaceuticals and medicines, with its overall chemicals imports rising by about $9.5 billion between 2023 and 2024 alone. As shown in the inset table in Figure 3, chemicals was the state’s largest import category in 2024, accounting for 32.1 percent of total imports at a value of $40.9 billion. Pennsylvania also imported $17.4 billion worth of computer and electronic products in 2024, its second-largest import category that year, with more than half (53.3 percent) coming from China. In 2008, nearly one-third of the state’s imports were oil and gas, but this share has decreased substantially over time and was just 3.9 percent in 2024. The decline in Pennsylvania’s oil and gas imports has occurred amid growth in the state’s natural gas reserves due to development in the Marcellus Shale. This rock formation underlies roughly 60 percent of Pennsylvania and is the largest natural gas field in the nation. Among all states, Pennsylvania was second only to Texas in natural gas production in 2023.

Where Do Pennsylvania’s Exports Go, and What Products Does the State Sell?

Figure 4 shows that, from 2008 through 2024, Canada was Pennsylvania’s largest export market. The shares of the state’s four largest export destinations (in descending order as of 2024)—Canada, the European Union, Mexico, and China—have generally been stable since 2015. In 2024, nearly half of the state’s exports were sent to Canada or the European Union. Chemicals accounted for the greatest share (28.7 percent) of its 2024 exports to the European Union. Computer and electronic products represented the largest share (about 16 percent) of Pennsylvania’s 2024 exports to Canada, while chemicals accounted for the second-largest share (14.4 percent).

Figure 5 shows that, from 2008 through 2024, chemicals was Pennsylvania’s largest export category. Starting in 2020, the value of the state’s chemicals exports saw a sizable jump. Pennsylvania exported about $8.6 billion worth of chemicals products in 2020. By 2024, that value had increased to $13.9 billion, with pharmaceuticals and medicines contributing $8.1 billion and basic chemicals accounting for $2.3 billion. The sharp rise in chemicals exports that began in 2020 was supported partly by increased production of natural gas in Pennsylvania due to the Marcellus Shale boom, which has allowed for more petrochemical manufacturing.⁴ Outside of chemicals, computer and electronic products is the state’s only other product category to eclipse $5 billion in annual exports, a level it surpassed from 2021 through 2024.

Conclusion

From 2008 through 2024, Canada was the largest destination for Pennsylvania’s exports. Chemicals was the state’s largest export category during this period. There was a surge in the dollar value of Pennsylvania’s chemicals exports starting in 2020 thanks in part to increased petrochemical manufacturing supported by the Marcellus Shale boom. Over the past several years, an increased share of Pennsylvania’s imports has come from the European Union, while the share of imports from China has decreased.